ETHER DRINKING.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2899, 12 February 1891, Page 4

ETHER DRINKING.

TiiK Xew licview publishes an iirticlc from tho pen of Dr. Ncrman Korr on ether drinking in Ireland. H.c writes : " The outward and nnmistakeable signs of this form (if inebriety ;ire immifest to the «mscs---indoors sit s.-ciiil and other gatherings, out of doors where the people congregate ! On murker, and fair days, wherever there is :i urnwd tho sitinosphure is •• etiieriiil" Tho air hi orally reeks

with the fumes oi' elh'T. In the. Ihinl-clas': railwiy carriages the smell of th<- drug from tin: women tin veiling from iiiul U> :n;irkel is described by a guurcl us ' disgusting and aboinimilik-.' Even Hit: most sabred ediliuc. notwithstanding strong rebukes from the. altar, i.s not free from this pestiferous pollution. To anyone unaccustomed to this unique unpleasant experience, the odour froai the ether-laden breaths i* sickening and repulsive. I slisll never forget the first time! inhaled this contaminated air. The thousand elassie ' smits ' (if Cologne were a perfumed g-tlo from-Aruliy tiiu Blest compared with this over-powering, nauseating, loathsome, blast. "Within, only a rush to an op»in v.indww, and without, only ;i sudden I'oll. from tlu; dense and horri I air of Hie reeking street, bus warded oil'as gond an imitation of innl du nieras might luive provoked even tin Irish saint to a torrent of iudiijiKint oloniiein-'-. At dances, where ether is drunk, it can rrailily be imagined (hat the fun waxes fast and furious. Owing to the frequency of frenzied outbursts, bolh at dances and waken, the scones at times tire neither decorous nor peaceful. 'The baneful potion is freely sold at public-houses iiud groceries/ , Jle adds I hat the Roman Catholic clergy have done their utmost to cheek tl.i-; vice, and that a petition Ins been proented to I'ailiinuent. i.y liip t<yn..d nt ibe Irish ('li'ireli. a -iiiiiL , ; ; m ciiuuiry into the w'■.<>]■■ mat (•(•)■.